The present invention generally relates to the field of air filtration, and particularly to a downdraft dust collector capable of collecting dust, debris and other loose materials and capable of providing an adjustable work surface and storage areas.
Woodworking shops deal with dust and other loose airborne materials on a daily basis. The cutting, sanding and shaping of wood products produce airborne particles that may cause harm to an operator who is unaware of the risk or not properly protected. These same risks exist for the craftsman at home working in their workshop.
Woodworking craftsmen have utilized downdraft dust collectors to minimize the amount of harmful airborne particles in the work environment, as well as providing a secondary work surface upon which larger work pieces may be placed and more easily manipulated. These devices work well for standard size and shape work pieces that may be brought to the downdraft dust collector to be worked on. However, larger and odd-shaped work pieces may require the use of fixed location woodworking machines that cannot be maneuvered to accommodate the downdraft dust collector and further require an additional amount of work piece outfeed support generally not provided by standard downdraft dust collectors. Further, it may be the case that the height of the downdraft dust collector work surface does not match the height of a machine that is manipulating the work piece.
Additionally, woodworkers employ a wide variety of tools and other accessories. For example, they may utilize hand saws, chisels, belt sanders and the like to accomplish a single task. Typically, downdraft dust collectors do not provide any ability to store other tools and accessories. It may be imperative that the woodworker have all these tools readily available no matter where work is being performed.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a downdraft dust collector that includes a downdraft table and outfeed supports, is mobile, adjustable to accommodate height requirements of other machines and size requirements of various work pieces as well as providing additional storage capabilities for tools, clothing and the like.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a downdraft dust collector that combines a dust collection system with a downdraft table and multi-position outfeed supports. Further, the downdraft dust collector is mobile, adjustable to accommodate height requirements of other machines and size requirements of various work pieces and provides additional storage capabilities for tools, clothing and the like.
In a first aspect of the present invention the downdraft dust collector collects dust using a dust collection system mounted on a platform. The downdraft dust collector includes a work table and one or more support members connected to the platform and the work table. The downdraft dust collector further includes one or more outfeed support mechanisms connected to the work table for providing extended support to work pieces.
In a second aspect of the present invention the downdraft dust collector includes a dust collection system mounted on a platform. A downdraft table, disposed with a plurality of through points, is connected to the dust collection system and allows dust and debris to be caught. The downdraft dust collector further includes one or more support members connected to the platform and the downdraft table as well as one or more multi-position position outfeed support mechanisms connected to the downdraft table for providing adjustable extended support to a work piece.
In a third aspect of the present invention the downdraft dust collector includes a storage cabinet for additional storage of work accessories and supplies. The dust collection system is disposed within this storage cabinet and connects with a downdraft table for providing dust and debris collection. Multi-position outfeed support mechanisms are connected to the downdraft table. The storage cabinet is mounted on the platform.
It is to be understood that both the forgoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the general description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.